In lieu of a weekend wrap article, I'm going to give some thoughts on Ole Miss and the SEC. I wasn't in Miami so I don't have any quotes to build my thoughts around, so this is the easiest format. Ole Miss is off today after the long travel day -- got back to Oxford after midnight after a connect flight in Charlotte -- and will face SELA Tuesday at 5 p.m. and Wednesday at 11 a.m. The Wednesday game is a School Day with a lot of elementary children at Swayze Field. Ole Miss has done it with women's basketball for several years, and it's a success. I saw Louisville do it with baseball last year and it seemed to work well.
Ole Miss, now 11-1, swept FIU over the weekend in one of the more complete, dominant weekends I've seen from the Rebels in a while. FIU isn't a bad team at all, though they are young. Now root for the Panthers to get a game from Rice this coming weekend.
OLE MISS THOUGHTS
Stuart Turner continues to be Ole Miss' MVP this season. This will undoubtedly be the JUCO transfer catcher's only season in Oxford as long as he stays healthy, but it's a heck of a year so far. His ability defensively has been noted as far as his arm, and rightfully so, but he's been exceptional receiving, as well. Balls aren't trickling away from him. He keeps everything contained and handles the pitching staff well. His defensive game is as complete as any catcher I've seen personally. And then there's his offense that is currently ahead of what everybody expected from him. Hitting in the four-hole, he's also leading the Rebels with a .450 average, and nearly half his hits are extra-base hits. Over the weekend, Turner went 8-for-12 with seven RBI, four doubles and a triple. Obviously that pace won't continue, but he's doing it all for Ole Miss currently.
If Mike Bianco could bottle up a blueprint and have Ole Miss copy it all season, the weekend at FIU would be the one so far to emulate. The starting pitching on Saturday and Sunday was superb, defense was solid and Ole Miss took advantage of opportunities offensively all weekend and flustered the young Panthers' team. Yes, FIU was bad defensively, but some of that was due to Ole Miss' speed, hit and runs and movement on the base paths. Bianco and hitting coach Cliff Godwin really pressed FIU into mistakes with aggressiveness. That's Ole Miss' formula offensively, and sometimes the other team will make the plays, but it'll pay off more times than not. It was a very complete weekend. The week also displayed maturity for Ole Miss. After an irritating six-error loss to Memphis Tuesday, the Rebels shook off the cobwebs against Arkansas Pine-Bluff and then finished the weekend to call it a successful week. Midweek losses are forgotten after a weekend like that.
In different ways, Ole Miss' starting pitching was excellent all weekend. Bobby Wahl didn't have the perfect stat line, but he gutted out winning outing despite dealing with a blister on one of his throwing fingers. It wasn't pretty, as he walked three and allowed nine hits in 5.1 innings, but it was a big night as a leader to keep the team in the game and fight through it. Pitchers aren't always lights out. You have to win a few when the stuff isn't perfect. Speaking of, Mike Mayers was pretty close to perfect Saturday. He went seven innings, allowing just two runs on a single and a home run and striking out six with no walks on 104 pitches. Of his 21 outs, 16 were strikeouts or on the ground. That's what Mayers' stat line looks like when he's on. And then you can't say enough about Sam Smith's start on Sunday. FIU can hit, but the sophomore threw strikes, pitched to contact and received solid defensive play behind him. Filling in for Chris Ellis, who coaches are being extremely cautious with regarding an abdominal strain, Smith scattered six hits in six innings, walked just one and didn't allow an earned run. That's the Sunday recipe ? pitch to contact and give your offense a chance. Smith did that and some yesterday.
I've said this a couple times, but it continues to be proven true: Bianco really trusts his bullpen right now. In years past, there haven't been a plethora of options in tight situations, but Bianco is going up and down the roster and giving pitchers opportunities in different roles and in different scenarios. Brett Huber, Tanner Bailey and Aaron Greenwood were obvious options, but Scott Weathersby, Jeremy Massie and Matt Denny have been very strong in multiple outings. Also, Brady Bramlett put together a nice start Wednesday and is an option. Weathersby is intriguing because he's going to locate, he has different arm angles and when it gets warm his fastball will run into the low 90s. Massie gives the Rebels a situational lefty option, and he hasn't allowed an earned run in five innings. Weathersby and Massie are probably one-time-through-the-order guys, but there's nothing wrong with that. Denny is another left-handed option that is just scratching the surface on his ceiling. There's major potential down the line, and he's acclimated himself well so far, as he's given up no earned runs and no walks in six-plus innings. I hope Bramlett gets a midweek start against SELA to get a better look against a competent offense, but he got stronger as the game went on Wednesday and located well.
Austin Anderson is a win for sabermetrics so far this season. Advanced numbers suggested he was due a breakout season, and he's currently hitting .375 with a BABIP of .448, which suggests he's probably been a little lucky so far in 2013. Anderson hasn't struck out in 52 plate appearances.
Sikes Orvis seemed a little more comfortable over the weekend. That's good news, as Ole Miss needs production out of him.
20-6 is the nonconference record SEC teams in the hosting discussion normally need to match. Ole Miss is obviously off to a good start thus far.
SEC THOUGHTS
Everybody knew Arkansas could pitch, but no one knew if they would hit. So far it's been mixed, but this past weekend was really bad. The Hogs lost two to Arizona State and one each to Pacific and Gonzaga, scoring just six runs in the four games. They're a CWS contender because of the arms, but it may be a good time for Ole Miss to head to Fayetteville.
Florida took two from Miami this weekend to break a five-game losing streak. The Gators have been hit with a good bit of adversity, but that was a positive sign for Kevin O'Sullivan's club. They're too talented to be bad all year. A lot like Vanderbilt last year, you want to catch them early.
I think Mississippi State is very, very good. I think Kentucky is really good. However, it's hard to know when neither has played anybody with a pulse yet. State has won some pitching duels against teams that throw it fairly well, but they haven't faced much of an offense to this point. Butch Thompson is getting a ton out his arms, though.
Ole Miss isn't catching a break by missing Georgia and Missouri this season. Both teams have been terrible so far. The West could be won based on the schedule since that's potentially a couple wins swing if a team gets them both. In saying that, Ole Miss gets a win by not facing South Carolina. It doesn't matter what the names are of the players or the coach, the Gamecocks win. They beat Clemson twice over the weekend.
LSU seems to be pretty similar to Ole Miss to this point. State opens with league play with LSU. That's an interesting early series.
Texas A&M lost two first round pick starting pitchers last summer. That's showing right now, as the Aggies are struggling with consistency. Their Sunday starter threw one (ONE!!) strike in 17 pitches yesterday.
Ole Miss, now 11-1, swept FIU over the weekend in one of the more complete, dominant weekends I've seen from the Rebels in a while. FIU isn't a bad team at all, though they are young. Now root for the Panthers to get a game from Rice this coming weekend.
OLE MISS THOUGHTS
Stuart Turner continues to be Ole Miss' MVP this season. This will undoubtedly be the JUCO transfer catcher's only season in Oxford as long as he stays healthy, but it's a heck of a year so far. His ability defensively has been noted as far as his arm, and rightfully so, but he's been exceptional receiving, as well. Balls aren't trickling away from him. He keeps everything contained and handles the pitching staff well. His defensive game is as complete as any catcher I've seen personally. And then there's his offense that is currently ahead of what everybody expected from him. Hitting in the four-hole, he's also leading the Rebels with a .450 average, and nearly half his hits are extra-base hits. Over the weekend, Turner went 8-for-12 with seven RBI, four doubles and a triple. Obviously that pace won't continue, but he's doing it all for Ole Miss currently.
If Mike Bianco could bottle up a blueprint and have Ole Miss copy it all season, the weekend at FIU would be the one so far to emulate. The starting pitching on Saturday and Sunday was superb, defense was solid and Ole Miss took advantage of opportunities offensively all weekend and flustered the young Panthers' team. Yes, FIU was bad defensively, but some of that was due to Ole Miss' speed, hit and runs and movement on the base paths. Bianco and hitting coach Cliff Godwin really pressed FIU into mistakes with aggressiveness. That's Ole Miss' formula offensively, and sometimes the other team will make the plays, but it'll pay off more times than not. It was a very complete weekend. The week also displayed maturity for Ole Miss. After an irritating six-error loss to Memphis Tuesday, the Rebels shook off the cobwebs against Arkansas Pine-Bluff and then finished the weekend to call it a successful week. Midweek losses are forgotten after a weekend like that.
In different ways, Ole Miss' starting pitching was excellent all weekend. Bobby Wahl didn't have the perfect stat line, but he gutted out winning outing despite dealing with a blister on one of his throwing fingers. It wasn't pretty, as he walked three and allowed nine hits in 5.1 innings, but it was a big night as a leader to keep the team in the game and fight through it. Pitchers aren't always lights out. You have to win a few when the stuff isn't perfect. Speaking of, Mike Mayers was pretty close to perfect Saturday. He went seven innings, allowing just two runs on a single and a home run and striking out six with no walks on 104 pitches. Of his 21 outs, 16 were strikeouts or on the ground. That's what Mayers' stat line looks like when he's on. And then you can't say enough about Sam Smith's start on Sunday. FIU can hit, but the sophomore threw strikes, pitched to contact and received solid defensive play behind him. Filling in for Chris Ellis, who coaches are being extremely cautious with regarding an abdominal strain, Smith scattered six hits in six innings, walked just one and didn't allow an earned run. That's the Sunday recipe ? pitch to contact and give your offense a chance. Smith did that and some yesterday.
I've said this a couple times, but it continues to be proven true: Bianco really trusts his bullpen right now. In years past, there haven't been a plethora of options in tight situations, but Bianco is going up and down the roster and giving pitchers opportunities in different roles and in different scenarios. Brett Huber, Tanner Bailey and Aaron Greenwood were obvious options, but Scott Weathersby, Jeremy Massie and Matt Denny have been very strong in multiple outings. Also, Brady Bramlett put together a nice start Wednesday and is an option. Weathersby is intriguing because he's going to locate, he has different arm angles and when it gets warm his fastball will run into the low 90s. Massie gives the Rebels a situational lefty option, and he hasn't allowed an earned run in five innings. Weathersby and Massie are probably one-time-through-the-order guys, but there's nothing wrong with that. Denny is another left-handed option that is just scratching the surface on his ceiling. There's major potential down the line, and he's acclimated himself well so far, as he's given up no earned runs and no walks in six-plus innings. I hope Bramlett gets a midweek start against SELA to get a better look against a competent offense, but he got stronger as the game went on Wednesday and located well.
Austin Anderson is a win for sabermetrics so far this season. Advanced numbers suggested he was due a breakout season, and he's currently hitting .375 with a BABIP of .448, which suggests he's probably been a little lucky so far in 2013. Anderson hasn't struck out in 52 plate appearances.
Sikes Orvis seemed a little more comfortable over the weekend. That's good news, as Ole Miss needs production out of him.
20-6 is the nonconference record SEC teams in the hosting discussion normally need to match. Ole Miss is obviously off to a good start thus far.
SEC THOUGHTS
Everybody knew Arkansas could pitch, but no one knew if they would hit. So far it's been mixed, but this past weekend was really bad. The Hogs lost two to Arizona State and one each to Pacific and Gonzaga, scoring just six runs in the four games. They're a CWS contender because of the arms, but it may be a good time for Ole Miss to head to Fayetteville.
Florida took two from Miami this weekend to break a five-game losing streak. The Gators have been hit with a good bit of adversity, but that was a positive sign for Kevin O'Sullivan's club. They're too talented to be bad all year. A lot like Vanderbilt last year, you want to catch them early.
I think Mississippi State is very, very good. I think Kentucky is really good. However, it's hard to know when neither has played anybody with a pulse yet. State has won some pitching duels against teams that throw it fairly well, but they haven't faced much of an offense to this point. Butch Thompson is getting a ton out his arms, though.
Ole Miss isn't catching a break by missing Georgia and Missouri this season. Both teams have been terrible so far. The West could be won based on the schedule since that's potentially a couple wins swing if a team gets them both. In saying that, Ole Miss gets a win by not facing South Carolina. It doesn't matter what the names are of the players or the coach, the Gamecocks win. They beat Clemson twice over the weekend.
LSU seems to be pretty similar to Ole Miss to this point. State opens with league play with LSU. That's an interesting early series.
Texas A&M lost two first round pick starting pitchers last summer. That's showing right now, as the Aggies are struggling with consistency. Their Sunday starter threw one (ONE!!) strike in 17 pitches yesterday.
